Nigeria We Hail Thee?

Not many citizens will hail the current state of affairs; not with the rising tension everywhere, not with the unabating growth in unemployment, not with the impending strike over fuel subsidy and the subsisting one by ASUU - our university teachers.

If you blame the aggrieved, I hear you. If you blame the miscreants/hoodlums (as the media joins leaders to call them), I hear you. If you blame *US* the citizens, I hear you. Blame not the politicians or their hirelings or their hangers-on or their naked and inordinate greed cum ambitions or their spiritual consultants who see no evil, speak no evil. Chide not our leaders or their ethics or their ineptitude or their tactical rather than strategic cast or their herd mentality or their budget-failure artistry or their mindless looting of our patrimony. They were not responsible, are not responsible, will not be responsible beyond the pot.

So, they get us on the queue to vote and claim the glory. We hail them, they nail us. We hail them, they jail our youths in the visible prison of poverty but tell us we are FREE! Judging by the spending spree of government at many levels, they clearly enjoy the glee.

As duty calls, dear compatriots, who hails NIGERIA?

Budgets: Is It Blockade or Bungle?

When we ritualized the annual budgets in Nigeria, disconnecting it from the development plan we set the nation up for disaster. And it started with the better-forgotten structural adjustment programme (SAP) - the horrid pill of the IMF/World Bank of yore. What the military regimes and their civilian collaborators didn't chop the SAP Monster sapped! And we reeked and reeled. The rest, as they say, is history - bitter history.

Thanks to President Olusegun Obasanjo's courage and Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala's commitment, we got out of our foreign debt crisis and regained our national pride. It was historic, even euphoric. But, alas, it was short-lived! (PDP, I'm looking at you).

Right from 1999, our political leaders and their collaborators - ably aided by bureaucrats and technocrats - have failed to faithfully and fully implement our annual budgets. Okay let's qualify that: they have selectively and unpatriotically implemented the budgets - routinely consuming all recurrent/overhead votes, ruinously sidelining all capital votes! We've done so year in year out, averaging 30 to 40% budget implementation. (Infrastructure, Education, Unemployment, Poverty, Security, Maternal & Infant Mortality, I'm checking your pulse)

Question: Do we also have a Budget Cabal -at all levels of government - in Nigeria?

Poser: Who is blocking Budget Implementation?

Query: Why are Nigerians not challenging, why are we condoning, this mindless Budget- Bungle?

Puzzle: Is anyone doing the Development Mathematics of these Wasted Trillions?

May 2012 be a bright beginning. Amen.

Your Cabinet Will Make or Mar You, Oh Leader!

Never mind what percentage of the votes we gave you, if you take things for granted and load your cabinet and corridors with political jobbers and IOU-robed appointees, there'll  be enough robbers and jesters to last your unraveled tenure. No-one old enough to seek and win election in this land is ignorant of this scourge!

Show me your ministers and commissioners and top technocrats and lead bureaucrats and I will craft you your inevitable tapestry - for good or for ill.

Why, you must be grateful to all who helped. But your best and most gratitude is in stellar performance. Only the fit and tight can help you deliver that. May God guide you aright.

Now the key appeal: Dear Nigerians, please leave our elected leaders and their appointees alone. Let them serve you their relation or friend or associate equally as they serve us all, the nation. Ruin not your own.

The New Era, A New Era?

Changes have come. Not earth-shaking, maybe. Significant be the outcome in the old western region - i.e. the southwest, Edo and Delta states. After the polls, the PDP lost grounds to ACN and Labour Party here. APGA, ANPP and CPC have not done so badly considering the overarching reach of the ruling party and other extenuating factors.

There were salutary changes within the PDP too: many politicians lost their primaries. The over-hyped power of incumbency was to no avail. Cold sweat.

Kudos to President Goodluck Jonathan for keeping his word. Kudos to INEC for being to to its mandate, its duty. Thanks to the Youth Corpers for their patriotic service to the nation.

Our most gains were in the parliaments: a huge turnover, especially at the National Assembly. The parties and the masses commended and chastised with the vote. Changes.

Can we expect a new era? Is this the new era of our yearning?

As We Go Vote TOMORROW...

Finally April 9th of 2011 is here! We will file out to choose our national assembly members in about 86% of the contestable seats nationwide. Others will follow on the 26th. What a wait!

This year, we have the best chance ever to turn things around, to make a clean break from the ignoble past, to join the civilized world, by making democracy work. We will do it. We owe it to us, we owe it to Africa and the world. With this INEC, we are upbeat. We must do it.

Here is a plea to all the Forces of Good: Stop all them forces of evil! Make us proud tomorrow. Place the banner of patriotism on the hills of pantheon. Hoist the flag of fortitude on the mount of fortune. Make the electorate - one man, one vote - the master of the electoral universe. Let our founding fathers finally rest in peace!

What can Nigeria and Nigerians not do? Let's do it right for one and all, from tomorrow.

Yes, TOMORROW.

My Vote for INEC

Isn't it ironic? Very few Nigerians doubt INEC! Most international commentators trust this INEC! So we have the building blocks of a progressively sound and potentially great electoral edifice from the 2011 elections! And this, despite all the challenges, hiccups and shaky starts of both the voter-registration exercise and last week's botched polls! What a badge of honour to Jega & Company!! We watch and we know, don't we?

Set against the past, this can only be heartwarming. So, kudos to the appointer, kudos to the appointees.

My vote for INEC stems from the courage and honesty of its new leadership. Telling it as it is - despite the obvious and heavy costs. Levelling with Nigerians and the world, accepting full responsibility, and - most importantly - APOLOGIZING! Against the past players, this is comparing apples with coconuts!!

On this note, I vote for INEC.

IF YOU DIE FOR SOMEONE’S ELECTORAL AMBITION…

There will always be die-hard supporters of any cause, crusade or campaign. Fair. But to waste your life for somebody’s electoral ambition is a stretch! Especially when: a) they don’t put their own life and those of their family/loved ones on the line; a) they don’t care about service but servitude, which their track record should amply show; and c) they don’t even know you or your family - because you were merely hired by their pimps and cronies!

The past is the past, but in today’s Nigeria let no such misadventure befall you or those you know. It is a criminal waste, and your family and Creator will be entitled to condemn you roundly for it! If you are fed up with life you’re not the only one. If you hate the state of things in the land, you have big company - many of us do. If you want a particular person or party to win and help change things, so do others. Which is why it is a political contest and not a personal do-or-die combat! Which is why it is democracy and not despondency! Win some, lose some - that’s life, isn’t it?

Key Question: If you waste your life for someone’s political ambition, where or what is your personal ambition? Pray, you be more Catholic than the Pope? Haba! Search.

And the real cool thing about elections is this: you can always win next time! There are so many examples of this. Some people try up to SEVEN times before landing the job! And, yes, it is a JOB - going there to SERVE the people. So, if you go job-hunting, and just to be sure you got hired, will you hire hoodlums, thugs and assassins to “deal” with the other job-seekers? Or disrupt the final interview, so you can write the results and do your own appointment letter? After scaring away, intimidating, maiming or killing the umpires and representatives, would you get hired? More importantly, do you deserve the job? Telling. Humbling.

If anyone got a job that wayward way, that organization is in trouble. Such people will carry their do-or-die characteristics to deadlier levels throughout their career. And the higher the stake the more heinous they’ll get! Same for secular jobs same for spiritual jobs, worse for political jobs. Why, we must steer clear of such desperadoes! Fast.

Hey, I love to lose the pitch for Accountant this year, go get better-equipped, work harder, watch closer,  pray higher and come back to clinch Financial Controller in four years’ time or ED Finance in eight years’ time! Sweet, isn’t it?

It happens all the time. Prepare. Wait.

All Those Court Cases!

Nothing less than 500 court cases or processes ambushed the 2011 general elections! INEC chair had to cry out recently, that the commission was being distracted. It got so bad that courageous judges had to truncate several of those misadventures as abuse of the judicial process/system.

Okay, we have the right to go to court to fight for our rights. But many of these cases are really frivolous and some outrightly ridiculous. It strikes one as though some politicians would rather bring down the nation than lose their election bid! They fight their opponents, they fight their parties, they fight the umpire, they fight their own shadows and think little of patriotism! You just wonder.

After these elections, the Legal System(Bench and Bar plus AG) must work with parliament to tidy things up. It is just too depressing, the extant practice and the mindless abuse.

I rest my case.

Election Spendings of Parties & Contestants

This cycle is gone. The kind of funds being deployed and expended for the 2011 elections is truly mind-boggling by any measure. And you ask yourself, where is all this coming from? Yet, no-one is counting, so, no-one will account. Sad.

In the face of harrowing poverty and unemployment, not to mention decayed infrastructure and absence of electricity, the political class has been truly obscene! The spendings need to tell us the truth: Looting is alive and well, despite EFCC and in spite of ICPC! We mock prudence and decency. Period.

Here is my private thought: Those who lose and those who knew they would lose, where will they recoup from? If what they deployed didn't matter, how did they make the huge pile that produced this "chicken change", then? What is their tax profile? Why are elections so heavily monetized in this country? Who will stop this deviancy?

Since all have sinned and there is no saint in this matter, we pass.

In 2011, there is no capacity or time or incentive for INEC to look this way. Come 2015, we must enforce the law on election expenditure. Must.

This Matter of Incumbency

Whatever we believe, the power of incumbency exists and, in may cases, thrives. But there is a caveat: You must perform to get reelected. Alternative? Use your power and access to circumvent, muscle, bribe, defraud and rig the elections. If you can't run on your miserable record, you mastermind a massive fraud!

Now, if the umpire is incorruptible and the voters mass for change, tough luck! In which case the opposition has less work to do. When you have credibility and the opposition is disunited, your chances brighten up and the election is yours to lose.

On an even keel, the power of persuasion carries the day. You can't unseat an incumbent otherwise.

2011 is thus a study in incumbency as it comes. Many are losing, many are gaining, based on both perception and reality - image is everything! When the chips are down, the casualties will be thrown. And it will be telling.

We wait.

2011: My Predictions (Part 1)

I can see the Goodluck/Sambo ticket running away with the presidential tally in April. It is a gift the opposition parties willfully and willingly granted!

But voting Jonathan is not the same as voting PDP - he has promised one-term tenure and an inclusive administration!

I can see a hugely reduced majority of the ruling PDP at all levels. It is a voters’ reward for their blatant and ballistic denial of true democracy and sustainable development in the party’s rule since 1999!

I can see many new faces and vibrant voices emerging nationwide. It is the time of the heavens to intervene!

I can sense the pain and drain that will accompany all them losers, especially the masters and beneficiaries of the busted brigands. It is the proverbial crumbling of the cookies, alas!

I can see the media celebrating the celebrants, crucifying the crushed. Then, the clincher: Oh, let them see Farida Waziri on their way out. EFCC, boon be your day!

Voter Education

We must praise and celebrate Nigerian leaders at both individual and institutional levels for the open and total commitment to a credible 2011 elections. This was so palpable and unstoppable during the voter registration exercise. All over the country it was magical - sheer beauty. Oh, it soothes...

And Nigerians responded!

See what a proud people can achieve with right attitude and up-front leadership? A credible voters register. Soon, a credible election. Then self-pride and world prestige. Yes.

What can NIGERIA not achieve!

This 2011 Campaign

Just when we thought the fight will be super, the opposition parties are playing it cool, acting as if they have it all wrapped up! Amazing.

The PDP is stomping and pumping, showing what it takes to be the ruling party. The presidential campaign is looking like a one-team affair: Jonathan/Sambo! Amazing.

And the words? Everyone says their own party must win (must?) if every vote counts! Yeah. But you MUST truly and really canvass the votes, non? To win us over, you need to come see us in 36 States plus the FCT, non?

So let things rev up, abeg. This is 2011 General Elections. Where are the HOT issues? Where are the figures? Where are the verifiable ROAD-MAPS?

WOMEN and 2011

Keen observers of the goings-on must be at once amused and concerned about the place and prospects in the 2011 General Elections. I am.
 
Let’s start from the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action which our women talk so much about but do pretty little to actualize: Gender is not just about women, it is about Men & Women. Therefore it requires BOTH sexes to fully integrate WOMEN in national development! Curiously, our women leaders pursue exclusivity or reverse-discrimination in prosecuting their version of the Gender Agenda. We should wonder.

As every contestant, whether in politics or elsewhere, knows there is no substitute for hard work and networking plus relevance. Seeking to get things merely on quota or sentiments hardly works. The evidence was there at the PDP presidential primary election. Jonathan’s landslide victory mocked the ordinariness both the zoning (Atiku) and gender (Sarah) carrots. This, pray seeker, is 2011; and this is section-weary and religion-wary Nigeria!

The message: Your co-citizens want you to earn their confidence and their votes on MERIT, period.

Shall we then counsel women leaders that it is time to return to the Letter & Spirit of the Beijing Platform if they seek to actualize its laudable and long overdue objectives/goals. Cherry-picking for the season and convenience-packs for the pocket will not do. We need to see strategic crusading rather than tactical forays.

Now to the MEN: You will miss 50% of national resource and country capability by ignoring WOMEN! Nigeria needs 100%. Having cornered ALL politically, be prepared to concede 30-50% of political appointments after the elections - at ALL levels! No compromise.

Last word: Women leaders, starting with Patience Jonathan, must proceed to arm-twist ALL candidates and their political parties for this DEAL. Wives of candidates as well as female running mates must get their men to commit publicly NOW! Not later. Women may now TEST their leaders.

Voters' Register Take-Off and Hiccups

We must add our voice to the calming call for patience in the ongoing voter registration exercise. INEC has huge responsibilities and humonguous challenges, not least the question of TIME!

Too many things led to this pass and we , as a nation, know the truth - the whole truth.

Never again should we play deaf & dumb to clarion calls to save our country in future: whether from dictators masquerading as democrats or from cabals posing as patriots.

Let's stand by INEC now, and through the 2011 General Elections.

Can We Mark David Mark's Word?

Senate President David Bonaventure Mark pledged that the national assembly will lead by firm (and may we hope, very honest) example in slashing federal government overhead costs with effect from the 2011 budget. He spoke during President Goodluck Jonathan's presentation of the budget proposals to the joint Senate/House sitting on Wednesday.

Good. Well said.

Is this a promise to be kept or is he venturing (no pun intended) into delicate vaults of contention, considering how touchy his colleagues can be in these matters?

Okay, give them the benefit of doubts, dear Nigerians, and await their very patriotic ACTION. Please.

Now ye distinguished and honourable legislators, lend me your ears: Make the cuts deep enough to mean what you pledged - may we suggest a meaningful figure of 50%? Please.

Once done, you can then pummel the executive branch - with our full, total and overawing support.

While you be at it, kindly settle the small unfinished business of passing the FoI Bill into law. Thank you.

Nigerian Parliament Vs Nigerian People

It still baffles how politicians "miss it". They don’t "get it", do they? And this is a worldwide mystery. Recall the British parliamentarians? And other parliaments? Recall the US Congress? And other bi-camerals? These folks are constantly being punished by voters yet the new set (plus their retained co-conspirators) proceed to pummel the populace with arrogant intolerance! They leave why they are elected and leap into cloud cuckooland, on a fishing expedition! Nigerian lawmakers are a rare species: having connived with the military to ruin their nation, they find it discomfiting to serve her nationals. They see themselves as lords and masters, feeding fat on the public purse and concocting fairytales like the discredited military vampires we finally dislodged. Nigerians are so miffed that visiting and reading online comments/chatters on these folks will deeply depress you. The list of their “sins” is long, very long.

Our look today is the small matter of these "representatives" wanting to impose themselves on their political parties - by attempting to pass a law to make them automatic members of their respective national executive committees! Okay, maybe it’s not too bad to aspire; but with the instant and constant rejection and opposition to the move by all Nigerians, you would expect the bill to freeze and disappear. Oh no, not this national assembly (as our parliament is uniquely named!) that serves self and scorns nation! The more the opposition, the emboldened and disdainful they became. And the utterances! The arrogance! Irking.

Not for the first - and, we predict, not for the  last - time, they have been roundly humbled to drop the controversial bill. Wisely, the senate acted first after the governors threatened court action openly, and electoral castration privately. It buckled. We are not impressed. The time and resources wasted on this misadventure should have been invested in better and more urgent bills - the freedom of information bill, voting rights for Nigerians in the Diaspora, a social security/welfare/safety net bill, electoral offences tribunal, special anti-corruption courts, removal of immunity from criminal prosecution of all political office holders as long-proposed by late President Yar’Adua, to mention a few.

The good news: Nigeria is showing African brethren how to respect the people - We, The PEOPLE! May our brethren continent-wide start to do same, and may their politicians (especially their parliaments) start to listen.

In sum, kudos to Nigerians and half-nod to the Nigerian Parliament!

Performing GOVERNORS

In this comedy of errors called governance here, how can a performing public official not shine, and not be noticed? Yes, they do. One low-hanging-fruit area is in road infrastructure, followed by healthcare, then schools, and finally housing. Serious governors show their mark within 12 MONTHS!

So, let's think aloud. And we stay with first-term governors, ranging from 2-3 years in office. Unlike in the not-too-distant past, we are witnessing some real performers, with concrete projects. We are also seeing some real cost-cutters! These are governors who are doing "more with less". The president has publicly praised the 7-year governor of Gombe State, Danjuma Goje, for both the quantity, quality and cost of developmental projects, especially critical infrastructure. We can't say same of some of the other out-going governors across the nation.

With constant and - this time! - credible media coverage, governors are showing off their performance to the world. If your governor has not bought media space to do same, worry. If he does so with doctored footage, double worry. If he proceeds to bore us with more words (of cronies and hirelings) than actual projects, triple worry!

Real performers will show you clips of the past and video coverage of the present. They will bring you the voices of the real people who will vouch for the concrete change that has happened. Take two states the president has visited, for example - Rivers and Akwa Ibom. They stunned us all, didn't they? Take Anambra State, for instance, where the February Election gave us the chance to evaluate: Governor Peter Obi of APGA wowed us all, didn't he? And Anambrarians stayed solidly with him. We've also seen some heart-warming videos from Adamawa, Benue, Enugu, Jigawa, Plateau and Zamfara States recently - though their political opponents are disputing and casting doubts. Let evidence emerge, and EFCC assert!

Now, in two very clear cases, morning is showing the day. While some prominent politicians are scrambling for rehabilitation cum accommodation by defecting or redefecting to the PDP, local leaders and elected officials are trooping to the opposition parties (AC in Edo; Labour in Ondo), because of their visibly performing governors! Of course, the same feat is happening in Anambra. What does this portend for 2011? Simple: Power is with the PEOPLE! Perform, and you have them! The "Adams they can't damn" Oshiomhole, and Olusegun "the Iroko they can't fell" Mimiko, are performing wonders; and the PEOPLE love that!!

As for Lagos, please, wait. Just wait.

Constitution Review: Save AYE's, Re-present NAY's

The whole nation was involved but voted through their official reps. The returns are not necessarily what the people said or want. This was why many analysts had canvassed for a sovereign national conference, at best, or a referendum, at worst. It is for example not likely that Nigerians will approve immoral carpet-crossing or deny their state parliaments the autonomy that is inherent in a democracy. Nigerians want independent candidacy; where did those state assemblies which voted against it get their mandate from? So, dear compatriots, this be unfinished business.

As we see from other climes, the unpassed amendments are not necessarily dead. Since it is a state by state process, let's save all the AYEs and counting. We proceed to challenge or lobby the nay-sayers and win them over. This is what has been done in the EU's constitutional processes. In our case, we are on solid grounds: once a majority of 60% passes any amendment, it qualifies for the "bank", while we work hard to bring others on board. Any amendment earning below 60% dies. There is no time limit - only vote-accretion. However, after THREE attempts a nay-saying state stays NAY for that cycle.

Our grounds for this position are solid: All constitutional review reports have some common denominators. The standard-bearer is the Uwais Committee Report. If the legislators for selfish or partisan reasons vote down an amendment, they must not be allowed to get away with it. The voters must have the last say. We should get them to change their NAY or we recall them instantly or vote them out of office eventually. This is a task for pro-democracy groups and civil society leaders in all states of the federation.

Roads and Refunds

President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has brought some sanity to the vexed issue of Roads & Refunds, whereby states may work on federal projects and be reimbursed according to agreed templates. Before now, even by the president's admission, the matter was politicized. Some states got refunds, some rebuffs.

Though we shall not be detained here by the unwholesome politics of our queer federalism, it is salutary to see a president come to its rescue in this regard. If the question of roads is a national malady, devolution to states and the private sector is the most promising interim remedy, while the final solution is the practice of TRUE federalism.

If Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola of Lagos State had left it up to the federal bureaucrats, would we have the 10-lane wonder of the Lagos-Badagry Multi-modal Expressway being built right now? In fact, the vote-worry PDP tried every trick in their bag to frustrate, if not terminate, the world class project! My family lived on that road when Mobolaji Johnson was building it in the early 1970's. Though it has since become a crucial part of the Trans-African Highway, it has suffered the most despicable neglect from the federals - in league with its ilk across the land: Lagos-Ibadan, Lagos-Benin, Onitsha Bridge
and Lokoja-Abuja, to name a few. But for Yar'Adua's personable presidential propriety, the storm troopers were threatening hellfire, invoking federal powers and flaunting central controls - a throwback to the same debilitating desperation which killed the futuristic "metro train" project of the Jakande Administration.

Looking back now, we must wonder how the dramatis personae in both sagas feel today. See the avoidable costs and chaos they caused Lagos and Nigeria! In the recent past, the cabal saw Lagos and Kano States as prized targets for PDP's political "conquest & capture" come 2011. They forgot history: Lagos, Kano and The Old Bendel (now Edo/Delta) live and prosper as progressives. So is most of the Northeast, and all of the Southwest. Clearly, to eye any state for fair electoral victory is a
legitimate political aspiration. But to sabotage Nigeria's main commercial and population centres thus undermining national security, is political hara-kiri. It was why Governors Tinubu and Shekarau made mincemeat of OBJ and PDP despite his imperial presidency!

But be not carried away. If you thought the roads & bridges matter is mainly an inter-party saga, you are dead wrong! Few examples will do: Abuja-Lokoja, Abuja-Kaduna, and Abuja-Keffi-Lafia-Makurdi to the East, Abuja-Jos, and all PDP-controlled! The rot is simply "inter-tier" of governance (federal vs states), period. We must rework our pathetic practice of federalism by reducing BOTH the load and resources at the centre. Let's evolve a credible scheme that breeds patriotism, nationalism, real accountability and unblemished integrity. The federal "centre" is overloaded, over-resourced and over-rated! Politically, it is too attractive for all the wrong reasons, and it is failing us all - expectedly.

Set up a powerful, efficient and effective "Roads & Bridges" Commission, just like NCC, NBC, NAFDAC, and let states, communities and the private sector build for their people and the nation. Do same with education, health, agriculture, water and housing. If we need a mega or special project as national intervention, it should be handled by the National Economic Council cum National Council of State cum National Assembly with the usual concurrence of State Assemblies, and funded
from the Federation Account.

FERMA, the present roads' maintenance agency, should be split and inaugurated into SIX Zonal Construction Companies. We should get them six world class technical partners from different countries with up to 30% equity. We should equip them and staff them with redeployments from the works and housing MDAs so they can compete for business in their zones (in the first 5 years), nationwide (5-10 years) and Africa-wide (after 10 years). They will be owned by a Zonal Trust as joint ventures
FG/States/Workers/Tech Partners, and will be full service construction firms. In the fullness of time, just like the NNPC and NRC, they will be privatized.

This architecture will enable us leave urban works to first-rate contractors while deploying/dedicating the various State Direct Labour Agencies (DLAs) to rural infrastructure/housing.

Thank goodness, President Jonathan has shown the way. Now, he must show the will: The next stage of the constitution amendment must redress this aberration. Who is afraid of true federalism?